4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[eggsplorer]

OK - our Lohmann Ranger, Marzipan was showing signs of being broody, so I immediately lifted her off the nest, shut the Eglu door and she settled back down outside the door. I then tried shutting the run door (after putting the Grub and Glug on the outside of the run). She is spending her days outside the Eglu (on the nest side) and would spend all day there if she could. I've tried cold water and distraction, but nothing seems to be working.

 

Ideas please as I'm at a loss. One of our other 3 hens has now stopped laying only occasionally laying soft shelled eggs, which she never has before. I want to let her back into the Eglu, but don't want to let Marzipan back in. Any advice appreciated.

 

Currently I'm leaving the 3 of them in the run until about 9.00 so they've had a chance to lay and stock up on layer's pellets. I then let the 2 hens out and they forage happily for the rest of the day. I lift Marzipan off the nest (through the Eggport) and then shut the run door. She settles down outside the Eglu and tries to stay there all day.

[Barkisland]

Sorry to say that I was unable to break my Mary's broody spell, she stayed broody for 7 weeks, eventually snapped out of it, and 2 weeks later she was blimmin broody again. She is into her 3rd week now.

[chelsea]

I feel your pain! They do test your patience dont they?!

 

Have you ever tried a broody cage? You could maybe try it on a day when you are home all day (for supervision purposes), she needs to be cooled down underneath really so the sitting all day is preventing from her "cooling", you could use a dog crate with a wire bottom on some bricks (or something similar) so the air circulates under her belly.

 

However the broody pen did not work for us (neither did dunking)...I just think some hens are more prone to it than others. My 2 cochins were broody nearly all summer last year.

[Tessa the Duchess]

My Annie went broody last year for 10 weeks I tried dunking her putting a baseball in the nest box etc., I started to get really worried about her, as she wasn't eating or drinking much. I found a guinea pig cage in a charity shop, turned it upside down clipped on a feeder and drinker and put her in it inside the WIR on four bricks. Stayed in it for 48 hours and I let her out and she had forgotten all about being broody It really does work, at the first sign of broodiness I get the cage out

 

Tessa

[ClaireG]

Fingers crossed i've stooped my two broodies. I kept lifting them off the nest and removing the eggs, this was enough to deter one of them. The other i had to put into a dog crate for 24 hours.

[Egluntyne]

Article re broody hens **here**

[Yolky]

My has been broody for a few weeks now too. At first we let her get on with it but she really is blocking the next box and it is a pain. So today she is in the broody area (we have a WIR and the eglu is up high on a meter square platform and we have made the area underneath enclosed and that is where she is with her food and drink and she will stay there for a few days until she snaps out of it.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I used a puppy crate - if you spot the signs early enough, one day in it is often enough.

 

I got mine from Ebay.

[Barkisland]

I tried the puppy crate (for 72 hours). When I let her out, she marched straight back into the nest box, shouting her little head off!

I'm pleased it works for most of your hens, but Mary seems determined to hatch something!

[eggsplorer]

Thanks so much for the advice, especially the pic of the broody cage to give me an idea of what it looks like. I'll see if anyone has a similar cage and see if I can borrow it. She has spent most of today right next to the Eglu apart from when I was trying to put my sweet pea seedlings out, then she came over to try and eat them.

 

Really appreciate the time taken for your replies, I had read the article on broody hens, but wasn't too sure what the broody cage would look like.

 

Thanks